family

Friends are relatives you make for yourself.
– Eustache Deschamps

i just came from a birthday celebration for friends of mine who have become my family. they took me in around 1984 and we've been there for each other ever since. i consider myself blessed to have them in my life.

i also feel blessed that i've been given the talent for making and keeping friends. each one i've made has improved my life and i hope they feel the same.

think about your friends, the family you've acquired for yourself, and thank each one. just a minute to let them know they're special to you can strengthen your bond. your message might even come when the friend is feeling low and you could uplift them. never underestimate the power of kind words given freely.

each of you mean so much to me. sending love and light.

friends or angels

below is a list of family and friends who have touched my life. if your name isn't here, i most likely don't have your birthday. i made this list from the names on my master birthday calendar. i am very grateful to have such a long list!

i've been thinking a lot about how God works in our lives. i think God often speaks to us through people we know. so i often think of friends as angels. most recently, my angel/friend, Denise, sent me some books and CDs that have helped me focus my thinking on spirituality. so, thank you God and thank you Denise for helping me along my journey. thank you to the rest of you for bringing your light into my life.

yes, from now on i will be including some of my views on spirituality. i don't pretend to know what is fact. i won't try to convince you to agree with my thinking. i'm just putting my positive thoughts out into the world.

Thank you,
Alexander, Allison, Amy, Andee, Andy, Angela, Ann, Anne, Beecher, Benjamin, Betty, Betty Lou, Bill, Bonnie, Brian, Brianna, Bridget, Brooke, Bruce, Carol, Charlene, Charlotte, Chaz, Cheri, Christian, Christina, Chuck, Cindy, Claire, Cliff, Dale Leslie, Darryl, Dave, David, Deb, Dee, Denise, Don, Donna, Dorothy, Dwight, Ed, Edie, Elizabeth, Ellie, Emily, Erin, Faith, Fallyn, Fidget, Fran, Gail, Georgia, Ginger, Glen, Grace, Greg, Hannah, Helen, Homer Dale, Jack, Jacob, Jacques, Jamey, Jamie, Janet, Jean, Jennifer, Jerry Bill, Jessica, Jim, Joanna, John, JoLynn, Judy, Julia, Julie, June, Karen, Kathie, Kathy, Katie, Kay, Keith, Kelly, Ken, Kirk, Kristin, Larry, Laura, Laurie, Leslie, Liesl, Lisa, Lori, Lorraine, Manley, Marc, Marcia, Marjorie, Martha, Martin, Matt, Melissa, Michelle, Mike, Milo, Monica, Nancy, Nicholas, Nicky, Noah, Norma, Norman, Pamela, Pat, Patricia, Patti, Phyllis, Rachel, Rama, Raymond, Rebecca, Richard, Rob, Roger (Gabby), Ruthie, Sally, Sam, Sandy, Sarah, Sean, Skittles, Skyler, Stephanie, Steve, Sue, Susan, Susanne, Tamika, Tara, Teresa, Terry, Tina, Tinny, Tobin, Tom, Trish, Viola, Watson, Wayne, Winifred, Winnie

friends

i love my friends. each one holds a special place in my heart. some of them are family members whom i've come to know as friends, my sister and aunt are two. some of them are people with whom i've shared so much time and experience that they feel like family members. some of them i've met at special times in my life and we've formed great connections. i don't get to see them all as much as i'd like. days, months, sometimes years go by between visits. they are no less dear to me. if you are my friend, please know i think of you often whether i'm in touch or not and that my life is better because i know you.

i bring up friends now because this is the time of year that i love to do a friendship lesson with students. in fact, it is a nj health curriculum standard to teach the importance of friendship.

we talk about why friends are important. they have fun with us. they share good times and bad. they help us when we need them. they laugh and cry with us. they enrich our lives.

then i do an activity i got from an idea in an email forwarded story. i give each student a paper with the names of all of their classmates. i ask them to choose one kind word to describe each person on the list. the idea being: to have a friend, you need to be a good friend. one way to be a good friend is to use kind words. they can write a kind word for themselves, too. we must treat ourselves as well as we treat others. next, i take the papers home and type for each student a list of all the kind things people wrote about them. i hope each one feels a little better about themselves than before the activity.

it is my aim, as a teacher and a friend, to make each person i know feel good about themselves. i hope i can spread that feeling to all who read this blog.

to encourage you to use kind words, i've provided a list near the bottom of the page.